


Oathkeeper

by darkrogue1 (Lily_Haydee_Lohdisse)



Category: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Genre: Gen, I'm still confused about what Peter is to Nightingale, Missing Scene, magical no man's land, magical unknowns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 11:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12769749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_Haydee_Lohdisse/pseuds/darkrogue1
Summary: The missing scene when Peter told Nightingale about showing magic to Lesley and her picking it up.





	Oathkeeper

**Author's Note:**

> _"Nightingale told me to raise my hand and read me the oath: ‘Do you, Peter Grant of Kentish Town, swear to be true to our sovereign Queen and her heirs. And well and truly serve your Master for the term of your apprenticeshood. And ye shall be in obedience to all the wardens and clothing of that fellowship. In reverence of the secret of the said fellowship ye shall keep and give no information to any man but of the said fellowship. And in all these things ye shall well and truly behave yourself and secretly keep this oath to your power so help you God, your Sovereign and the power that set the universe in motion.’"_  
>  Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London page 75
> 
>  
> 
> _"‘Should you be telling me this?’ asked Lesley._  
>  ‘I don’t see why not,’ I said." _  
> Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London page 122_

"You did what?" Nightingale's horrified reaction sounded way more incensed than what I had been expecting.  
  
I had been dreading to tell him how I had accidentally taught magic to Lesley, but it seemed I had set off an unexpected storm, some natural wonder of bringing chaos and destruction.  
  
I never had seen him so angry, and the most terrifying thing was the way he contained himself, because underneath the calm appearance I could feel the wind screeching and hurling about, so I took on an appropriately penitent attitude.  
  
"Your werelight." He said in a soft steely voice. The softness was deceiving, his determination absolute. "Now!"  
  
I was holding out my hand and shaping my _forma_ even before I realised I was doing it. This is the strength of Thomas ' _I'm an officer and a war hero_ ' Nightingale's orders. If I hadn't known better, I would have been sure there was some form of compelling magic behind it. But he's my governor and my master in magic, and with a legitimate line of authority like this, I tend to follow the instruction that was drilled into me : you obey the commands.  
  
I unleashed the light quite effortlessly. I'm really confident that in a short while I won't have to think about it any further than a wish for light. _Fiat lux. Et lux fuit._ It was only then that I sensed the fizzling in my pants, and stopped the magic. Sadly too late, I had once again fried my mobile phone. From here on I really needed to switch it off each time I came home to the Folly. I sighed.  
  
Nightingale did too. He sighed in relief, and I only realised as he went back to a more casual stance how wound up and tense he had been. I don't know what he had expected, or feared, or even what he had seen in my _forma_ , but it had been enough to reassure him. Only his next word gave me some insight about what all that had been.  
  
"I'm not sure you realise how lucky you are." He stated in a tone that was patronising and mildly disapproving. "You Swore An Oath." I swear I heard the capital letters in his voice then, and I understood somewhat better. I work in law enforcement, of course I had wondered about magical law enforcing. There was a part that was clearly us, the breach of the Queen's peace, pursuing murderers and ethically challenged wizards. Arrangements and agreements would work as quid pro quo between the concerned parties, but there had seemed to be something more elusive with Oaths and Obligations.    
  
I let Nightingale rant as he was giving me a lengthy tongue lashing on that topic. It wasn't really informative in that he was mostly berating me for what he assumed was shortsightedness on my part. Only it wasn't. I didn't know that much about Oaths, but after the one I took to seal my apprenticeship, I found that there were time some words eluded me. At times when I would have betrayed my given word in a fit of distraction, I found that the words wouldn't get out. I guess that the magic protects itself, ensuring that one doesn't carelessly break an oath. You would have to mean the words and knowingly utter them to break the troth. But I haven't made any experiment to check and I'm not likely to do so anytime soon. Not until I know what the penalties are and how they are calculated anyway.  
  
Anyway for Lesley, I had found myself tongue tied for a fraction of a second before first telling her about the spells, back when I we were swapping theories about Skirmish - the dissimulo spell. But I focused my thoughts and I did tell her without any more hesitation. Same as when I showed her the werelight spell. As I explained then : I didn't see why I shouldn't be telling her all that.  
  
So I really didn't think I had been in the wrong. And seemingly - whatever Nightingale had been looking for in my spell - the magic thought so too. I let him berate me all the same. Mostly because after all my failures - Lesley's face, his gunshot wound, Simone's death - I felt like I deserved to be yelled at. Also because for once I felt that the constant quaint attitude couldn't be right for him. I never had seen him angry or uncontrolled and this is the most emotions I had seen my boss ever express. It almost made me feel heartened, after all the setbacks and very slow progress I had been making under his tutelage, that he valued me _that_ much to be so angry about some way I could have hurt myself.  
  
Soon enough his words dwindled, and when he finally seemed to have said all that he would say at the moment, I spoke up.  
  
"Sir." He wasn't looking at me anymore, so I tried again. "Inspector." At that his head shot up. This is what he told me to call him, the most formal I can be to him without calling him 'Master'. Something on my face must have clued him in as to how serious I was, because he frowned and _focused_. Let me tell you that the full focus of Nightingale's attention is not something to be taken likely. It is intense enough to give anyone shivers - me included.  
  
I swallowed but did not shrink under the pressure. I really had been intent to explain what my reasoning was. What had decided me that telling Lesley all that did not infringe on my word.  
  
"She is no man, sir."  
  
Nightingale blinked, surprised. For a moment he looked incredulous, then he got it and instantly burst into laughing. He only managed a few guffaws before he gasped and took a pained breath - the laughing must have pulled on his wound - and continued more subduedly with a light chuckle. He shook his head. "Only you, Peter." He said, but there was a smile at the corner of his mouth and the admonition was more affectionate than caustic.  
  
He grew serious once more after that, and gave me some more advice to remember. "You might have gotten of lightly this time, but please, be more mindful in the future, Peter. There is a reason why words are binding, and for the magic, either your word is true, or it's worthless."  
  
I nodded then, letting the words seep into me. Memorising the caution. It wasn't coming that cheap, with me having to buy yet another phone. But if I allowed myself to be true about it, I didn't mind that much.


End file.
